This invention relates to collecting urine specimens for drug-abuse testing, specifically to double-handhold apparatus that restricts a subject""s hands to prevent cheating.
The double handhold, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,278 (2001) to Copelan, uses the operation of a latch system to indicate whether a subject keeps both hands restrictively engaged while a specimen container is exposed. The container is housed in one of the device""s two single-handhold units. Grasping both units unlatches the assembly, allowing the units to separate for access to the container. If a hand disengages while the units are still separate, the latch system locks, the units do not fit back together, and the breach is evident.
Latch-systems are not ideal for a small device or one that places the container within the hand: They are costly to make and install, too large, easily soiled, and not always reliable mechanically. They require strong structure to resist forcing, are not instantaneous, and can be circumvented by blocking a latch element.
Instead of a latch system, the improved double handhold uses a direct signal to indicate a breach of hand engagement. Modern sensors and signals and the necessary switches and circuitry are inexpensive to make and install. All components may be sealed and protected from urine spillage. The elements are small, do not require strong structure, and are reliable in operation. Without the space or strength requirements of a latch system, the new handhold""s units are thin-walled so that the container is as convenient to void into as a container by itself. Not having a latch system""s projections, apertures, and moving parts, the device is easier to position, poses no risk of discomfort or injury, is easier to clean and maintain, looks to be and is more hygienic, is less susceptible to cross contamination, reacts instantaneously, and is more difficult to circumvent.